Valk, Gerard

4 volumes, folio (530 x 330mm.), engraved allegorical titles in volumes 1 and 2, manuscript general title in volume 1 and volume 2, title and index in all volumes, maps numbered in ink on upper corner, 384 double-page maps most in fine contemporary hand colour, some with towns and embellishments heightened in gold, eighteenth-century calf, some marginal worming at the end of volume 1 (not affecting the engraved area), very occasional marginal fraying or soiling, binding with old rebacking, corners bumped

note on front endpaper of vol.1, "These four volumes come from the Earl of Hardwickes Library in St. James's Square - 1835 A. Mexborough"

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A fine and extensive composite atlas in four volumes, this is a remarkable assemblage from a wide variety of sources focussed around the map stock of Gerard Valk and Petrus Schenk (including Mercator, Hondius and Janssonius maps acquired by them in 1694), but also including a substantial corpus of Blaeu maps (notably from the Atlas sinensis) and maps by Visscher, Carel Allard, Doncker, Van Keulen, Pieter Mortier and others.

The maps are variously in full wash colour, body colour or outline colour; a small number have additional later hand colouring, adding blue wash for the sea and some colour to cartouches; the different treatments suggest that this atlas was compiled c.1720 (when the latest map, the “Carte de la Nouvelle France”, attributed to Joachim Ottens, appeared).

This atlas is remarkable for the quality of the contemporary colour, and the internal condition, and is an outstanding example of an early eighteenth-century Dutch atlas.

The contents are as follows:

Volume 1: World, America, Africa and Asia
Volume 2: British Isles, Low Countries, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe
Volume 3: Germany and Switzerland
Volume 4: France, Spain and Italy